


everythin' is icy and blue and you are here there too under the mistletoe

by percyyoulittleshit



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: And it's Christmas, F/M, Fake Dating, The whole Chase family is here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21967795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyyoulittleshit/pseuds/percyyoulittleshit
Summary: Annabeth was twenty-six. She was thriving in her architecture firm and was close to getting a big promotion, and lived in a really nice apartment in the flatiron district in New York City, she did not deserve to be sitting at the kids’ table at her family Christmas dinner. Now it was almost Christmas time and Annabeth was determined to sit with the rest of the adults, and that’s why she had told aunt Caroline she was going to bring her boyfriend to their family Christmas dinner. The only problem? She didn’t have a boyfriend.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 45
Kudos: 523





	1. Christmas Day

**Author's Note:**

> I spent half of today reading fanfic and then the other half of today writing fanfic.  
> Part two will be hopefully posted on New Years Day  
> Happy Holidays!!!

Annabeth was twenty-six. She was thriving in her architecture firm and was close to getting a _big_ promotion, and lived in a really nice apartment in the flatiron district in New York City, she did _not_ deserve to be sitting at the kids’ table at her family Christmas dinner. Even Magnus, her youngest cousin, had been moved to the adults’ table after he brought his partner Alex for Thanksgiving. It had been humiliating sitting with Emma’s three kids and Aubrey’s two-year-old, while her twin brothers annoyed each other next to her. Now it was almost Christmas time and Annabeth was determined to sit with the rest of the adults, and that’s why she had told aunt Caroline she was going to bring her boyfriend to their family Christmas dinner. The only problem? She didn’t have a boyfriend.

“You know you’re going to owe me,” Percy said over the phone, “Like big time.”

“You’re getting fed and I’m going to spend the whole dinner saying how amazing you are.” Annabeth put her laptop on the bed next to her and took off her glasses. “What else do you want?”

“I’m getting on a train on Christmas day, Annabeth. I’m going to be stuck for four hours on Christmas day, you know what that means?”

“It means nothing to you jerk, you’re part Mexican and you always mention how your family celebrates on Christmas Eve and Christmas is just a random day for you, besides this was your idea.”

Percy chuckled on the other end of the phone and Annabeth smiled. “You got me there.”

They stayed in silence for a while. She could hear the sounds of Percy baking in the background and Annabeth smiled at the mental image of her best friend in his kitchen, wearing the overly pink, fluffy apron his little sister had given him a few Christmases ago. When Annabeth had lied about having a boyfriend she started to panic, she couldn’t believe she had promised her family they would meet someone who didn’t exist. Magnus’s smirk told her he didn’t believe her at all and that he was going to have fun watching the drama unfold without helping her, the little shit was going to fight for his spot at the adults table since Alex wasn’t coming for Christmas this year.

She had confessed to Percy her stupid proposition after a few cups of wine, Annabeth was tipsy and annoyed at herself and Percy had laughed, bouncing ideas of how to get a fake boyfriend or reasons why her ‘amazin’ boyfriend couldn’t have made it to dinner after all. It was after a while that Percy joked he could pretend to be her boyfriend, tipsy Annabeth had thought the idea was hilarious, sober Annabeth actually thought it over and realized it hadn’t been a bad idea at all. She spent the whole day putting together a compelling case and invited Percy over for dinner to explain why he needed to help her. She had figured how to reply to his objections and she wasn’t above pulling the best friend card on him, she had been surprised when it hadn’t taken that much to get him to agree with her plan.

“Are you going to bring me cookies?” Annabeth asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Nope,” Percy said happily.

“I hate you,”

“Oh no, I think I might have lost my train ticket for Boston,” Percy joked.

“You are the worst,” Annabeth looked at the clock in her hotel room. “Ugh, I have to go now, grandma’s forcing the whole family to go to church.” Annabeth started collecting her stuff around her room, realized she probably needed to clean it before Percy’s arrival tomorrow. “Do you want me to go and pick you up at the station tomorrow?”

“Only if it’s not snowing,” Percy told her and Annabeth smiled, she hated to drive in the snow and usually made Percy drive if he was available. 

“You sure? I can pay for your uber then,” Annabeth left her room and started walking towards the elevator.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Chase.” 

“Enjoy your dinner and say hi to your family for me.”

“Mom’s sad you aren’t gonna be here tonight.”

“Ugh, believe me, I would rather spend Christmas with your family than mine,” Annabeth complained. “Elevator is here, see you tomorrow Perce,”

“Call me if you need a break from your family!” Percy said before hanging up and Annabeth braced herself for a full afternoon with her whole family.

***

Christmas morning with her family wasn’t as bad as she had expected. The Chase’s Christmas tradition was long, it started on Christmas Eve and usually lead to the main event that was dinner on Christmas day. She loved her family, she truly did but she didn’t love spending too much time with them. She had managed to take an uber back to the hotel, with the excuse of waiting for her boyfriend to arrive and with the promise to be back for dinner. She had managed to have a few hours to herself in the hotel room, going over her cover story with Percy and thinking of all the scenarios that could go wrong at dinner and how to avoid them while also trying to find a way to tame her curls. 

She had already given up on her hair and was almost done with her makeup when there was a knock on her hotel door.

“Percy?”

“No it’s Santa Claus,”

Annabeth snickered and open the door to reveal a tired-looking Percy. “You look like hell.”

“Four hours on a full train will do that to anyone,” Percy walked into the room and Annabeth followed. “I managed to sleep through most of it, mom gave me one of her dramamines, the true hell was for an uber.”

Annabeth made a face, it had been snowing off and on all day and Percy had told her not to risk driving to go for him. He threw himself into the bed and stretched his arms. “How long until we have to leave?” Percy asked.

“Mmmm,” Annabeth checked her phone and ignored the texts from her family asking if her mysterious boyfriend had arrived yet. “Depending how bad the traffic is, probably in half an hour.”

Percy nodded and looked around the room. “One bed?”

“Yeah,” Annabeth shrugged apologetically. “Dad made the reservations and it would have been super obvious if I had asked for two rooms or for two beds.”

“True.”

“Plus it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before,” Annabeth said nonchalantly and Percy shrugged. During the last few years of college Annabeth had found herself crashing at Percy’s apartment more often than not. Usually after a party when she was too drunk to go back to her place or Percy was worried about her choking on her own vomit, then after college with their apartments in different parts of the city, their sleepovers usually happened if the other was too tired to take the subway back to their place.

Percy stood up from the bed and stretched, he picked up his duffle bag from the floor. “Are you going to use the bathroom? I need to get ready.” 

Annabeth took a quick look at his clothes, with his joggers and hoodie he had dressed comfortably for the train ride. “I’m doing my makeup there, you can change in the room.” She walked back to the bathroom and closed the door.

It didn’t take her long to finish her makeup, but she still gave herself a few extra minutes to return to the battle against her hair, losing again. She took a last look in the mirror and sighed, she did what she could.

“We should probably leave soon,” Annabeth said walking back into the room, she stopped when she saw a box on her nightstand that hadn’t been there before and she excitedly went to examine it. “ _Cookies_!” She said happily making Percy laugh. 

“I was going to make you the peanut butter kiss ones but Estelle ate all the kisses before I could,” Percy said making Annabeth snort. “But on the plus side, my mom has lots of leftovers with your name on it.”

“I love your mom so much.”

Percy smiled at her. “And she loves you so much.”

Annabeth moved the box to the desk and picked up her phone again, cringing at the two missed calls from her dad. “I think we should leave now.” Annabeth said and picked up her bag from where she had left on the chair earlier that day.

“Wait!” Percy said quickly, panicked in his voice. “We need to kiss!”

Annabeth blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

“I mean we should probably kiss,” Percy said, his face starting to get red.

“Kiss?” Annabeth asked, hoping Percy couldn’t read how anxious she was feeling. Could you be filled with butterflies and dread at the same time? Because that’s what Annabeth was feeling. 

“Yeah, if we are going to sell this relationship to your family we are probably going to have to kiss and I rather not have the awkwardness of the first kiss in front of them.” Percy’s eye winded. “I mean, not that is going to be awkward but like, we have to kiss and you are my best and I’m the one making this awkward, aren’t I?”

“A little bit,” Annabeth laughed quietly and noticed Percy playing with his hands, his give away about how nervous he was. She had to admit it was a good idea, she honestly had been so focused on just having someone by her side that she hadn’t actually thought about what it meant to go with a partner to the dinner and how she probably needed to avoid a certain mistletoe. Her family knew Percy was her best friend, most of them already knew and liked him, if she wanted them to believe they were dating they couldn’t act like just friends, they needed to up their game and that meant kissing. The idea of kissing Percy made her thrilled and anxious at the same time. Thrilled because she would get to kiss Percy and anxious because her past kisses had not been...good. She had kissed a few times, mostly during college parties and it all felt the same: awkward and waiting until it’d been long enough for her to break the kiss and hide in the party. Sure, she had thought about kissing Percy before, especially after a glass of wine or when he would fall asleep on her shoulder or early mornings when he’d surprise her with coffee at work. 

“But you’re right.”

“I’m sorry, can you say that again?” Percy joked breaking the mood a little bit and Annabeth rolled her eyes at him fondly.

“No,” Annabeth took a step towards him and Percy mirrored her, a little hesitantly. Annabeth put her arms on his shoulders and Percy rested his on her waist, they started to lean against each other before Annabeth pulled away, unable to stop a laugh. “This is so weird,” Annabeth said between laughs and Percy joined her.

“So weird,” Percy agreed, he took a deep breath and faced her again. “Okay, okay,” Percy leaned in and Annabeth closed her eyes, but instead of his lips, she was hit with his breath when he nervously laughed. “Sorry, see this is why we needed to try this here first.”

Annabeth waited a little bit until they both stopped laughing before resting her hands on his shoulders again. “Third times a charm?”

“Third times a charm,” Percy started to lean in and Annabeth got on her tiptoes and this time they managed to meet in the middle.

The kiss wasn’t long, it was a simple lips meeting lips type kiss but it was not what she had expected. First of all, she didn’t dislike it or feel indifferent to it, which was a nice change from her previous experiences. Most importantly, when he pulled away she actually _wanted_ to pull him back and keep kissing him.

Percy cleared his throat, there was a faraway look in his eyes that Annabeth couldn’t decipher. “Was that okay?”

“Yeah,” Annabeth said breathlessly. She cleared her throat as discreetly as she could. “It wasn’t bad.”

“Good.” Percy smiled at her. “Because we’re probably going to have to do that a few times tonight.”

“We all have to make sacrifices, I guess.”

Percy laughed and offered his hand to her. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Annabeth took his hand and let him guide her out of the room.

***

Percy’s clothes were fine, he had actually put the effort into dressing up and taming his hair for her family, yet Annabeth needed to occupy her hands somehow, so she started to clean invisible lint from Percy’s coat. She could feel his amused look but she didn’t care, she was nervous and cold and nobody had opened the door yet and maybe this had been a bad idea and she wondered if there was enough time to bail and-

“Annabeth! and...Percy?” Annabeth looked up to see her dad standing in the doorway, confusion clear on his face. “I thought said you were bringing your boyfriend?”

“And I did.” Annabeth gave her dad a quick kiss on his cheek before walking past him to get inside the house. Percy greeted her dad, and before she could finish taking her coat off Percy was already next to her helping her out of it, the show had officially begun.

“Annabeth dear!” Her aunt Natalie walked in from the living room while Annabeth thanked Percy. She wrapped her into a hug and Annabeth couldn’t help but smile, she was a lot taller than her aunt but her hugs had always been the best, you couldn’t help but feel loved in her embrace. “And Percy? Oh dear, look at you! You keep getting handsome every time I see you.” Aunt Natalie also hugged Percy. “But I thought Annabeth was bringing her boyfriend?” The last part was directed towards Frederick.

“Apparently she did.” 

“Oh?” Aunt Natalie said before turning to look at them. Percy had walked next to her and had wrapped his arm around her waist, she couldn’t help but smile when he kissed the top of her head. “Oh!”

“Surprise!” Percy said.

“Not much of a surprise,” Frederick smirked at them making his sister laugh and Annabeth could feel her face getting warm in embarrassment. “But something I want to hear about.”

“ _Dad!_ ” Annabeth exclaimed incredulously while her dad chuckled and guided them to the living room, where the rest of her family had the same reaction as her dad and aunt after seeing Percy by her side.

“I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for all of us when I say we can’t wait to hear how you two got together,” Magnus said once all the greeting and surprise at seeing Percy had calmed down. Annabeth could feel the challenge and mockery in his voice. Because of the almost ten year difference in age between Annabeth and Magnus with their older cousins, Magnus and Annabeth had always been a close unit, so close Magnus knew her well enough to know with certainty that she wasn’t dating Percy.

“Not that we didn’t see it coming,” Annabeth’s step-mom, Lily, said happily from her spot on the couch. “But I do want to know how long you two have been keeping this from us.”

“Just a few months,” Percy replied and then went into telling the story he and Annabeth had agreed on a few days ago. How he had finally found the courage to ask her out after they were walking on the High Line and Annabeth had been talking about the architecture of The Vessel, and how that date had become another date and another. And how they had wanted to keep quiet about their growing relationship because they were afraid their friendship wouldn’t translate well into a relationship but they were really happy to spend Christmas together. 

What Percy didn’t say was how in a few weeks Annabeth was supposed to call her dad and tell him that sadly Percy and she had realized they were better as friends than a couple and they were no longer together but he was still her best friend. Annabeth had been surprised at how well Percy had sold their fake love story to her family. His voice had the perfect cheerful, excitement and lovestruck tone her family would have expected from him, he looked at her at the right times and even kissed her cheek at the end of his tale, winning a few _aws_ from her aunts and cousins.

Annabeth and Percy shared a smiled, for her family, it looked like a romantic gesture, for them it was a way of sharing a victory, both fully knowing her family had bought their story. Well, almost everyone. Magnus was smiling at her in a way that told her he hadn’t bought the story at all. He and Annabeth had been fighting over who could sit at the adult table for a few years now. Annabeth had claimed she had the right since she was two years older than him, Magnus had tried to play the favoritism game with their grandma but she had refused to sit them at her table, even if there was enough space for both of them. Things had changed when Magnus had brought Alex for Easter and Thanksgiving, he had thought he had finally gotten his spot at the adults' table and loved to tease Annabeth about it. But Alex hadn’t been able to spend Christmas with them and apparently Magnus’s spot at the adult table wasn’t as permanent as he had thought. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Magnus whispered to her after she went to take a drink for Percy and herself out of the fridge. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Annabeth closed the fridge and smiled innocently at her cousin.

“That spot belongs to me.”

“Aunt C and Grandma would like to disagree.”

“While I agree with you and Percy obviously having a thing for each other, because honestly, everybody knows it except you two.” Instinctively Annabeth opened her mouth to deny his statement but closed it quickly after seeing the winning smile on his face, she had fallen into his trap. Annabeth was smart, really smart but so was her cousin, his happily lazy personality usually made her forgot it but he was a Chase after all. “See you around, cuz.”

“We are literally in the same house Magnus, we’re both stuck in the living room, obviously you’re gonna see me around,” Annabeth told to his retrieving back but he only raised a hand at her, without looking back.

She angrily opened her Coke. She knew Magnus wasn’t going to rat her out to the family, but he was going to make her pay for stealing his spot at the table and Annabeth wasn’t looking forward to it. She took a long sip of her drink and walked back into the living room

“Everything okay?” Percy whispered when she handed him his drink.

Annabeth sat down next to him on the love seat and snuggled a little bit closer to him so her family wouldn’t hear.

“Magnus knows we’re lying.” She barely moved her lips but she could tell Percy heard her, he moved so he was only facing her and not the whole room.

“Should we worry?”

“Nah, he just wants to hold it over me for a while,” Annabeth looked at his face, they were so close, she could see the faint freckles on his tanned skin. “But if we sell this well enough we might have him believing us by the end of the night.”

“Should we kiss now?”

“In a little bit, it would be too suspicious if we kissed right after he told me he didn’t believe us.”

“Whatever you say captain,” Percy rested back into the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and joined the conversation the rest of her family was having. Annabeth turned to look at Magnus, who only raised her beer at her before taking a sip.

The rest of the conversation before dinner went without any problems. Magnus had happily joined the conversation and hadn’t said anything when Percy and Annabeth had strategically sneaked a few kisses in while Annabeth’s cousin, Audrey, loved to point out how cute they looked together. Annabeth was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself. She had never been a fan of her family dinners, she and Magnus were always together making fun of their uncle Randolph or other silly things, but then Magnus had started bringing Alex and Annabeth had felt a little lost and alone. Now with Percy at her side, with his arm around her and his warmth next to her, Annabeth was falling into a pleasant contentedness, so much she had actually forgotten about Magnus being petty towards her.

Aunt Caroline had entered the living announcing dinner was ready and ushering everyone to go to the dining room and taking her grandkids one by one to wash their hands. Her dad, aunts, and uncle had gone to the kitchen to help bring the food while the rest of them walked down the hallway towards the dining room.

“Aww, Annabeth, look you guys are under the mistletoe,” Magnus said making Annabeth and Percy stop, they were under an archway and on top of it there was a piece of mistletoe. She was sure it hadn’t been there when they had arrived and one look at Magnus’s smirk and Annabeth knew who was responsible for it being moved. “You know what that means.”

“Oh my god, you are being ridiculous.”

“Sorry cuz,” Emma said pulling her wife, Veronica, closer. “We did it, Audrey and Nate did it too, it’s your turn.”

“Plus,” Audrey smiled at her. “It’s the Chase tradition!”

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her cousin at the same time Percy asked. “A tradition?”

“It’s stupid,” Annabeth mumbled.

“It’s _romantic_ ,” Audrey sang the words. “Legend says-” Annabeth huffed under her breath and Audrey ignored her. “That if a couple kisses under the mistletoe the first time a Chase brings their partner for Christmas, they will never break up and live happily ever after.”

Annabeth looked at Percy, who raised an eyebrow at her. “That’s absolute bullshit.”

“Yet,” Magnus said. “Emma broke up with her girlfriend not that long after she refused to kiss under the mistletoe.”

“Didn’t want to risk it with this one,” Emma said kissing Veronica on the cheek.

“And well, you know…” Audrey said solemnly.

“What?” Percy asked, Annabeth could feel his eyes on her but she refused to face him.

“My mom refused to kiss my dad, saying it was just some dumb myth and it wasn’t real,” Annabeth said simply, she hoped her tone was emotionless enough. If she was honest, as stupid as it sounded, she believed in the tradition, coincide or not every couple that didn’t kiss under the mistletoe ended up breaking up at some point. Her grandma had loved to tell that story when they were all little and Annabeth had grown-up hoping to kiss someone under the mistletoe one day. The older she got, the less possible it looked. But now with Percy, she was itching to see if the tradition was actually true, but just not like this, not when she knew it wasn’t real.

“Well,” Percy’s arms wrapped around her waist pulling her close. She instinctively rested her arms on his chest, her body was burning under his touch, Annabeth had never experienced this before in her life and it was making her dizzy. “Do you think we should risk it?”

Percy was looking at her, _really_ looking at her in a way Annabeth had never been looked at before like if she was the only thing that mattered. It was as if his question had another meaning Annabeth didn’t understand yet but she knew the answer was important, really important to him and it would change something between them, for better or for worse. She wasn’t sure yet but she knew Percy was expecting one answer, the same one that was going through her mind over and over. “No, I don’t think we should risk it at all.” 

“Good, I don’t either,” Percy whispered against her lips and then he was kissing her and Annabeth was kissing him back like she had never kissed anyone before. For the first time in her life she understood every love song, every romance book, every rom-com. Nothing mattered except Percy, and his arms around her and his lips on hers. Annabeth could have spent her life kissing Perseus Jackson and she would have probably done it if Magnus’ voice hadn’t brought her back from her high.

“Well it’s a good thing Uncle Frederick is in the other room,” Magnus said making their cousins chuckle. 

“For someone who didn’t believe in the tradition, you really went for it cuz.” Emma was probably smirking at her, but Annabeth couldn’t focus. Her full attention was on the man in front of her, she and Percy were panting, trying to get their breath back. It was exhilarating knowing the kiss hadn’t only affected her. Percy licked his lips and Annabeth had the urge to kiss him again.

“And they’re not paying attention to us,” Audrey said. “Ugh, it’s like you and Veronica’s first Christmas.”

“Hey kiddos, we can’t start dinner until everyone is seated,” Aunt Natalie’s voice carried from the dining room and everybody started walking towards it. 

Annabeth and Magnus shared a glance, he was looking at her with curiosity, the smirk on his face was long gone, after a few beats he smiled at her. “Come on, we don’t want to make mom angry.” 

Something had changed about his attitude but Annabeth couldn’t decipher what. She felt Percy gently pulling at her hand and she let him guide her over to her sit. For the rest of the dinner Annabeth was in a daze, trying to understand what had just happened between Percy and her. She had always liked him, that was a fact, but then who wouldn’t like Percy? He could charm anyone, the way her family was listening intently at one of his anecdotes from work proved it. Honestly, Annabeth had never stood a chance not falling for him, but _had_ she actually fallen for him? Annabeth hadn’t been good at relationships so much so that she was twenty-six and had never had a romantic relationship. Percy was her best friend but so was Piper and she had never felt for Piper the way she felt for Percy. She had always claimed it was because Percy was her oldest friend, the one person she could always count on, the one to call at three in the morning knowing he would be there for her. The kiss had changed everything she thought she knew, now right was left and up was down but the only constant was Percy’s presence next to her, anchoring her, calming her, comforting her in a way she wasn’t sure what it was.

The rest of the dinner was a blur in her mind, the only thing she could focus on was Percy; the way he joked with her dad and the way he helped her grandma clean the table, how he picked up Sydney, Emma’s youngest daughter, and carry her around the Christmas tree, showing her the lights and ornaments and how her heart was beating faster and faster every time Percy smiled at her. Annabeth’s brain knew they were _acting_ as a couple in love but her heart seemed to conveniently forget the whole acting part. Before she knew it, she was already walking down the steps outside the brownstone after saying goodbye to everyone. Percy was still holding her hand and guided her towards the right of her car. When Annabeth didn’t protest about him driving them Percy smiled and walked towards the other side of the car. Annabeth sneaked a glance at him, his eyes were on the road and a smile on lips, it was the same scene she had witnessed a few hours ago when he was taking them to her family’s house, but a few hours ago her heart wasn’t beating so fast at the sight of him, her hand hadn’t been itching to hold his like it was doing now. 

Annabeth could tell Percy had noted her restlessness, he didn’t start any conversation during the ride and Annabeth was thankful for that, it wasn’t until they were back into their hotel room that he finally spoke. Annabeth had just taken off her high heel boots and had sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“Are you okay?” He was finishing taking off his coat and scarf. His tone was soft and his brows were scrunched in that cute way they did when he was worried about her.

Annabeth smiled at him. “Yeah, I just let Magnus get under my skin, you know how we can be.”

Percy chuckled. “I do know a thing or two about annoying cousins.”

“Thalia?” Annabeth asked him.

“And Nico.”

Annabeth laughed at his reply. “You know, I would take Magnus over those two anytime.”

“It’s okay, I still have Bianca, Jason, and Hazel.” Percy made a face. “Wait, no, Bianca didn’t like the cake I made last time I saw her, scratch that I don’t like her anymore.”

Annabeth barked a laugh and could feel a weight lift from her shoulders, a weight she hadn’t known she was holding. Percy smiled at her, that stupid smile he had reserved only for her and she felt a calmness wash over her body. Still, shyly she asked:

“We’re okay, right?” 

Percy knelt in front of her. “More than okay.” Percy smiled at her and she couldn’t help but return his smile. “It has always been you and me Chase, that won’t change now.” There was a spark in his eyes, that one that told her he was up to no good. “Even if you are an okay kisser?”

Annabeth gasped and playfully hit his arm, making him break into a loud laugh. “You fucking jerk,” Annabeth moved around until she got a hold of a pillow and started to hit him with it making him laugh even louder. “You’re sleeping on the floor you asshole.”

“I’m sorry! You are the best kisser, nobody has your kissing abilities.” Percy stood up and quickly grabbed his pj’s from his duffle bag before walking towards the bathroom and Annabeth threw the pillow at him.

“You better enjoy sleeping in the bathtub!” She yelled while he closed the door. 

She had been so scared of that kiss changing things between them for the worse but for the first time she had been so glad to be wrong. She was glad the bond she had with Percy was as strong as ever.

She quickly changed into her own pj’s and started putting her stuff away. She was pulling the covers from her side of the bed when she heard the bathroom door open and Percy walking towards her.

“Hey,” Percy gently grabbed her hand and guided her to face him, he let go of her hand and opened both of his arms towards her. Annabeth smiled at him and let him embrace her, happily resting her head on his chest. “You know you’re one of the best things that ever happened to me, right?” He murmured against her hair.

“And you know how happy I am to have you in my life, right?” Annabeth said back.

“You’ll always have me,” Percy tightened their embrace. “And we’re okay, we’re absolutely okay.” 

Annabeth smiled against his chest. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew an unspoken promise had passed between them, she wasn’t sure if they both knew what it meant but she was sure both of them had felt it.

“Merry Christmas, jerk,” Annabeth mumbled.

She could feel his chuckle. “Merry Christmas, mediocre kisser.” Annabeth stepped lightly on his foot making him chuckle again. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed.”


	2. New Year's Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know 8 out of 10 doctors will usually get a nasty cold in winter, courtesy of their patients? Sadly I was one of those eight and hence why this chapter is a week late.

The sky was gloomy and the air was a bit colder than it had been that morning, it wasn’t as cold as Boston had been a few days ago, and for that Annabeth was grateful. Trying to warm herself up she took another sip of the coffee she had bought a few tents back. She and Percy were currently at the Union Square greenmarket near her place where Percy was buying ingredients for the New Years Eve dinner he was going to cook while Annabeth, who had no idea about choosing fruits or vegetables, was happily enjoying his company. She took a few seconds to sneakily admire Percy’s profile. He was happily talking to the sweet-looking old lady about vegetables, his dimples were showing, his hair was in its usual messy style making Annabeth wish she could run her hands through it, and even if she had seen him in that old blue coat a thousand times before, she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked in it. 

In a way the relationship between them hadn’t changed since Christmas, they still teased each other and joked around, still trusted the other blindly. But something _had_ changed between them that night, or better said, morning when she had woken up on his chest with his arm resting on her waist. When they had shared beds in the past there was always a small space between them but after that morning, where they both woke up blushing but with a smiling, they cuddled now, looking for any excuse to stay over at the other’s place. Just in the past week they had shared a bed three times. They also held hands now, their hugs lasted longer, and their touches lingered; there was an air of unspoken promise between them. Annabeth could only describe it as a prelude to something bigger to come.

“I got the pineapple!” Percy told her while he happily raised the fruit towards her to admire, bringing her back from her thoughts.

“We good then?” Annabeth said looking at the recycled bag Percy was carrying filled with different types of vegetables and fruits.

“Yeah, unless you want to keep looking around?”

Annabeth glanced at the tents around them, filled with people looking for fresh ingredients for their new year dinners. “Nah, let’s head back.”

Percy nodded, took her hand and didn’t let go until they made it to her place, where he started to cook the moment his coat was no longer restricting him. While Percy’s kitchen was what Annabeth would describe as well-loved, Annabeth’s kitchen, on the other hand, was what you would find in a magazine, shiny, pretty and barely used, well it was mostly used by Percy who loved to cook for her. 

“I’m gonna work on a 3D model that’s due soon,” Annabeth informed him and Percy nodded at her, not looking away from the potatoes he was about to cut. Percy knew his way around her kitchen better than her and she knew that if she stayed there she would be anything but helpful. “Do you need anything?”

“Before you zone out?” His tone was teasing but she could _hear_ the smile in his voice.

“Before I give my complete attention to the work that helps pay rent for the wonderful kitchen you’re currently using.” Annabeth picked up the laptop she had left on the couch when had Percy shown up at her door that morning and got comfortable at her dinner table.

Percy snorted. “You and I both know you could still afford this apartment without working.” This time Percy was looking at her, that smirk present on his face. Instead of wiping it off with a kiss like she wanted, she put her headphones on and ignored him.

The thing about Annabeth losing herself in her work was that she would forget about everything else until her body could no longer take it. She was sure she had only survived college because Percy made sure she had food breaks and more importantly, sleep breaks and today was no different. By the time Percy, very loudly, put down a mug next to her laptop getting her attention, it was already pretty dark outside and her shoulders and back were killing her. 

“I ordered chinese, it’s going to be here soon.” Percy pulled out the chair and sat down next to her.

Annabeth blinked at him before looking at the time on her laptop, not as surprised as she should have been that it was close to eight in the evening. “Are you done cooking?”

Percy pointed at the mug and Annabeth grabbed it. She gave him a quick smile before taking a long sip of the warm latte he had made for her. “Almost, I’m debating if I should make a miso butterscotch cake for dessert or not.”

Annabeth turned to look at him so fast she was surprised her neck didn’t snap in the process. “Dude, dude, my dude.” She widened her eyes at him in what she hoped was a cutesy way. “If you love me you’ll make it.”

Percy opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. Annabeth was hit with the realization of what she just said. Before Christmas, that proclamation would have made Percy roll his eyes at her and say something annoying back, but after that dinner, after that kiss, they were in this dance they hadn’t fully gotten the rhythm to yet. Percy smiled at her and shyly took her hand that had been resting on the table, and when he spoke his tone was tender. “We will see.”

“Are you going to stay over?”

“Mmmh.” Percy looked at their intertwined hands. “If that’s okay with you? I think by the time I’m done with everything I have to cook tonight it’s going to be close to midnight.” He looked in the direction of the kitchen with a grimace. “I’d rather take all of this over early in the morning to mom’s instead.”

Percy lived in a tiny studio apartment close to his family’s on the Upper East side, almost half an hour subway ride from Annabeth’s place. Annabeth cringed at the thought of having to walk from the subway stop to his place with all the food. “Yeah, no, you’re definitely taking my car in the morning then.”

“Yeah I was about to ask if I could borrow it.” Percy looked relieved. “I’m probably going to leave early to avoid all the new year's eve traffic.”

“But you _do_ have to make me breakfast before you leave.”

Percy rolled his eyes at her. “Like you’re going to be awake in the first place.” Percy’s phone beeped and he glanced at it. “Food’s here, be right back.”

He stood up and picked up his wallet before walking out the door. Annabeth took that time to catch up with the texts she had ignored while she was working, they were mostly from their group chat talking about Rachel’s party the next day but there was one from Magnus that made her snort and she quickly replied.

**From: Magnus Chase**

So?

Have you already told Percy

that he is the love of your 

life and you want his babies?

**You:**

Do you know?

that your mom showed me

your baby pictures

*NAKED* baby pictures

and I have Alex’s number?

**From: Magnus Chase**

is that a yes?

**You:**

it’s a fuck off

***

Annabeth loved spending the holidays at the Jackson-Blofis’s place. The house was always warm, with the smell of baked goodies in the air, the Christmas decorations while a little old, were always beautiful and there was always a mug of hot cider waiting for Annabeth. The fact that she also always got to try the January pastries for the Jackson’s bakery before they started selling them was a really nice perk. This time, however, she had miscalculated the time and the holiday crowds and it had taken her over an hour to arrive at their place. 

“At this point, I don’t know if it would have been faster if I had accepted your offer to pick me up,” Annabeth told Percy after she had taken off her coat and had gladly accepted the warm mug Paul had offered her. 

“Then you two would probably be stuck in traffic,” Sally said while hugging her hello. Percy took the mug from her hands before she accidentally spilled oh his mother. “But it doesn’t matter, you are right on time for dinner.” 

“Like you would have let us start without her,” Percy mumbled winning a playful arm smack from Sally. 

“Can we start already? I’m starving.” Estelle said from the table where she was already sitting.

“Didn’t you just eat like, twenty cookies?” Percy asked.

“So what if I did? I learned from you after all.” 

“Mom, Tellie’s being mean to me!” 

“Because you deserve it!” Estelle sing-songed to him.

“Every single year,” Sally mumbled while shaking her head at her kids' antics making Annabeth laugh. “Percy carinño, go and help Paul bring in the food. Estelle corazón go and wash your hands and Annabeth dear please sit anywhere you want at the table.” 

Annabeth barked another laugh when she saw Percy made a face at his sister behind Sally’s back and Estelle stuck her tongue out at him. With the fifteen year difference between the two siblings they bickered like crazy, but Annabeth knew Percy was deeply protective of his little sister and that Percy was Estelle’s idol. While Sally had told her to sit wherever she wanted, Annabeth had spent enough holidays with them to have her own place at the table, between Percy and Estelle. 

While Annabeth’s family usually had whatever her aunt felt like cooking for the holidays, the Jackson-Blofis family had their own tradition. On the days leading up to Christmas they usually had tamales, it could be breakfast, lunch or dinner, it didn’t matter. On the first Sunday in December Sally and Percy, and sometimes Estelle, would make as many tamales as they possibly could, honoring their Mexican heritage. But for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve dinner they would have Turkey or Ham, and this year for dinner they were having the glazed pineapple ham Percy had spent the previous day preparing. Dinner went by filled with laughter, food, bickering between Percy and Estelle, and stories. Annabeth felt a warmth she had never really felt back at dinners with her family but she always felt with the Jackson-Blofises. 

Once they were done with dinner and Percy had gone back to the kitchen to get the dessert, Sally had started telling Annabeth about the small _roscas de reyes_ they were going to start selling at the bakery once they opened again on January 2.

“This time I tweaked the recipe a little and I think I did a pretty good job,” Sally said excitedly, her eyes shining the same way Percy’s did when he was telling her about his new creations at the bakery. “I left some at Percy’s place so you can try one.”

Annabeth was about to reply when Percy put a plate in front of her and she gasped in surprise. In front of her was a big, delicious looking piece of miso butterscotch cake. When she turned to face him he only winked before sitting down next to her, happily joining the conversation with his mom. His hand rested lazily on her knee and in an act of boldness, Annabeth rested her hand over his. She didn’t miss the way his lips curved at the action, or how he lightly squeezed her knee.

“We’re not going to Rachel’s party, are we?” They were in the kitchen cleaning off the dishes and putting the leftovers away. She knew Sally never expected her to help clean but Annabeth always did anyway. If she couldn’t help with the cooking then at least she could help with the cleaning. Sally, Paul, and Estelle were in the living room, watching the Times Square live footage and waiting for the ball to drop.

Percy smiled sheepishly at her. “I’m sorry, you can still go if you want.”

“God, no.” Annabeth passed him another plate to dry. “I have no desire to travel to Brooklyn this close to midnight. “Are you gonna stay the night here?”

She could feel Percy’s curious eyes on her even if she had busied herself doing more dishes. If Percy decided to stay over at his parents then she probably should take the subway back to her place soon so she could avoid all the after midnight madness.

“Nah, I think I’m going to walk home right after midnight.” Percy took the clean mug she was offering him. “You can stay at my place if you want.”

“I might take you up on that offer.” Annabeth smiled gratefully at him.

“Good.”

***

Midnight was getting closer, the excitement from the live stream of Times Square translating to a very excited Tellie, who was also trying really hard to stay awake. Annabeth looked around the living room expecting to see a certain someone smiling at his sister's antics, but instead she was greeted with his absence. 

Thinking he was probably in the bathroom Annabeth let it go, but after ten minutes had passed without any sign of Percy, she excused herself and went to his old room looking for him. She looked at her phone since he sometimes texted her when he didn’t want people hearing him, but the only texts were from Piper yelling at her about not going to the party. He hadn’t left the house, that was for sure since everybody would have noticed if he opened the front door so that only left one place. Sure enough, when Annabeth opened the door to Percy’s former bedroom she was greeted by the cold coming from an open window, the one facing the fire escape.

Under better circumstances Annabeth wouldn’t have had trouble climbing out the window, but she was getting colder and the cold metal was hurting her hands. She had probably made quite a scene because she could hear Percy’s chuckle before he came to her rescue. His hands lingered on her waist for a few seconds even after Annabeth was standing in front of him, he started to pull his hands away when Annabeth caught them with hers. Even in the cold air Percy’s hands were warm against her skin.

“You’re cold,” Percy said casually, moving slightly back so his back was resting against the railing.

“Yeah well, it’s fucking cold out here,” Annabeth stated the obvious.

“You can always go back inside.” Percy led their hands close to his mouth where he puffed his breath on them trying to warm hers.

“I guess I could, but not until you tell me what's going through that brain of yours.”

“Nothing,” Percy said quickly. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him letting him know she didn’t believe that at all. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “It’s just-I’ve just been thinking about…”

When Percy didn’t give any sign that he was going to continue, Annabeth said: “I guess it’s a pretty big “about” if you’re outside in the middle of winter just thinking about.” 

“About _you_ .” He led her hands near his lips and she could faintly feel the ghost of a kiss. “About you and me, _us._ ”

“ _Oh._ ” They were quiet for a while, their hands still together. Percy had finally made the first move in their own personal dance but Annabeth knew him well enough to know that he was waiting for her to make the next move. And she knew exactly what it was going to be, the one question that had plagued her brain over the last week. “Why did you accept to be my fake boyfriend?” 

Percy chuckled quietly. “Because I thought it was going to be my only opportunity to be your boyfriend.” His eyes were locked on their interviewed hands. “But now…” he added after a few moments of hesitation.

“You think different?”

Percy finally looked up at her and Annabeth wasn’t really surprised by the intensity in his eyes. “Something changed, right? That night between us, I’ve been replaying it in my head for a while now, and I don’t want to assume your feelings but…”

“But if you were to assume?” There was a playful smile on her lips. The space between Percy and her was filled with an electricity that was making Annabeth shiver in anticipation, she was sure Percy could feel it too.

“I think you feel the same way I do.”

Annabeth took a step closer to him. “And that is?”

“First you have to answer me.” Percy straightened from where he’d been leaning against the railing, closing the gap between them. “Did that kiss change something between us?

Percy started to lean down but he had that trouble maker smirk on in full force. Annabeth knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to do what she wanted him to do until he got his answer. She freed her hand and started to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. 

“It absolutely did.” Annabeth stood up on her tiptoes and crashed her lips against his. Percy didn’t waste any time. He licked her bottom lip asking for permission, which she gladly gave him. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer and picking her up a little, his tongue exploring her mouth and Annabeth couldn’t help but lose herself in him. 

“When did you know?” Annabeth asked. They had stopped kissing, _making out_ , and were resting against the rail, arms around each other, enjoying the feeling of being together.

Percy looked down at her. “Mmmm?”

“About me.” Her voice was quiet and by the way he was smiling, she was sure Percy could detect the shyness in it.

“I’m not sure.” His embrace was tighter and Annabeth looked up at him, he had a far away look in his eyes, but the smile was still present on his lips. “For a while now, I think, I always knew you would be the one for me you know? I know I had relationships in the past and I truly cared about them, loved them in certain cases, but at the end of the day there was something about you, I’m not sure how to explain.” Percy licked his lips and was quiet for a while, trying to get a hold of his thoughts. He started to draw circles on her back with his thumbs, making her cuddle closer to him. “What I feel for you is something that I have never experienced before, just the sound of your laugh can brighten my day, one smile from you and my bad mood disappears, you are my sun, I guess, you make my life bright and warm and you’re always there even if I can’t see you.”

“I don’t really think I know what a crush is.” It was Annabeth’s turn to get her thoughts in order, scrunching her eyebrows she added. “I guess I kind of know now because of you.”

She could feel his chest vibrating with his snort and Annabeth couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “All I know is that the way you make me feel was something that no one ever made me feel before and somehow I still didn’t get the hint, I needed to realize that I was, well-” Annabeth took a deep breath and looked up to see Percy’s whole attention was on her. It was now or never. “That I was falling in love with you.”

Percy took a deep breath at her confesion, his eyes widening in surprise. For a second Annabeth started to doubt herself but then he gave her the biggest smile she had ever seen on him. “You have no idea how many times I have thought about you saying that to me.” He laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around her. “You love me, _oh god_ , you love me.” 

His voice was warm and happy, she could feel the elation pouring out of him and Annabeth felt happy and safe in his arms. Still, she raised a questioning eyebrow at him, silently asking what she was afraid to ask out loud. Percy smiled at her at the same time he moved his arms, one hand rested on her waist while the other caressed her cheek. 

“I have wanted to say this for so long.” He started to lean down and Annabeth found herself on her tiptoes, closing the distance between them. When their lips were just a few inches apart Percy whispered the three words she had dreamed about. “I love you.” And with that their lips met, again and again, and _again_. She wasn’t sure who deepened the kiss first, all she knew was Percy, his taste, his warmth, his scent, the way her body reacted to his touch, just _him_. The sound of the first fireworks in the distance, followed by some cheers around the building made them separate, _barely_. 

“Happy New Year,” Percy whispered against her lips before slightly pulling away to take a peek at the fireworks around them. His face was illuminated from the colors of the sky, from green to blue to red and Annabeth’s heart was doing its own firework show at the sight of him. His eyes were shining and there was that smile, the one that made his dimples show, and in that moment Annabeth thought he had never looked more handsome. It wasn’t the first time in her life she felt the urge to kiss his jaw, but for the first time in her life she did because he was hers and she was his and she _could_. 

“Happy New Year,” She mumbled against his skin. Percy turned around and met her lips with his, pulling her into a toe curling kiss than she happily reciprocated.

“W _ait_.” Percy pulled away to face her. “Does this mean we have to lie to your family about our anniversary?”

“Oh, _shit_.”

The next morning, after posting a picture of them together on Instagram, which she only captioned with a heart, Annabeth woke up in Percy’s arms to a text message from her cousin.

**From: Magnus Chase**

FUCKING FINALLY.

jesus fucking christ, it took u 2 long enough

but dont get cocky because 

that spot is still 

M I N E 

  
  


**You:**

Oh, you wish bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And for thanksgiving the next year Percy and Alex both sat down in the adults' table while Annabeth and Magnus sulked in the kids' table.
> 
> \-----  
> Another note is that  
> I'm Mexican and how Sally celebrates is usually how my family celebrates, except we don't make tamales we buy them, and yeah December is the month I ate the most tamales in the year. The ham with pineapple is actually a dish my aunt makes almost every Christmas and is my favorite in the whole world.


End file.
